This disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium and performs outputting, and a maintenance system for performing maintenance of the image forming apparatus.
Multifunction peripherals have been widely used which include: for example, a printer function of forming an image on a recording medium (paper) and performing outputting; a scanner function of optically reading a document; and a facsimile function. Moreover, some multifunction peripherals include a function of performing various types of operation via a network. Various operation modes are set upon execution of such various functions, which has complicated configuration of the multifunction peripherals. Thus, when a failure occurs, cause elucidation and repair of the failure may not be easy in many cases.
Thus, there is a first technology in which, upon occurrence of an abnormality in an image forming apparatus, information of the abnormality (for example, a log file) is automatically notified to another device (a service center) via a network and a detailed approach depending on the abnormality is set on a service center side. There is also a second technology in which an image forming apparatus images and outputs information related to an occurring abnormality as a one-dimensional code or a two-dimensional code, a mobile terminal for maintenance reads this image and notifies the image to a maintenance server, and the server sets a detailed approach depending on the image.